JP2005018631A - Information processor, information processing method, its recording medium, and its program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor and an information processing method, capable of sequentially processing pieces of data from the head thereof without changing the order in which they have been received after receiving them in parallel, and to provide a recording medium and a program for the method. <P>SOLUTION: A communication means 10 communicates with a Web server. A control means 11 virtually divides a piece of data into two or more blocks to generate two or more pieces of block data. Two or more reception means 12 receive some of the two or more pieces of block data in parallel through the communication means 10. Two or more FIFO means 13 store the block data received by each of the two or more reception means 12, and output the pieces of block data in the order in which they have been stored. A processing means 14 reads out the pieces of block data selectively from the two or more FIFO means 13 according to the row of the pieces of block data in the pieces of data, and processes the piece of block data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of transmitting / receiving and processing data, an information processing method, a recording medium thereof, and a program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the spread of World Wide Web and the like, it is possible to browse information using a Web server on the Internet. In addition, the user can download data, programs, and the like provided by the Web server via the Internet. At this time, the use of data via the Internet is often much slower in downloading than the use of data from a local computer. As a countermeasure, when receiving data on the Web server in order to download data faster, multiple communication lines (sessions) conforming to the HTTP protocol are opened, the same data is divided, and the divided data is The technology to download in parallel is used.
[0003]
Specifically, when transferring a file by the FTP protocol, the number of file divisions and the number of TCP sessions are determined based on the TCP protocol window size, the round-trip delay time of the network, and the line speed. And dividing the file and establishing a plurality of TCP sessions for data transfer to perform data transfer (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-305643
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if it is desired to download the data and use it immediately, and the data is in a compressed state, for example, the downloaded data must be immediately decoded. Therefore, even if the divided data is downloaded in parallel as described above, the data can be decoded only after the divided data are prepared. That is, there is a problem that it takes time until the decoding process starts in order to wait for the divided data to be prepared.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances. An information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a recording medium thereof, and an information processing apparatus that can receive data in parallel and process the data from the top without changing the order of the received data. The purpose is to provide a program.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus that acquires and processes desired data from an information providing apparatus that provides data via a network. Communication means for communicating with the information providing apparatus, dividing means for dividing the data into a plurality of blocks to obtain a plurality of block data, and a plurality of receptions for receiving a part of the plurality of block data via the communication means. Means, a plurality of temporary storage units installed for each of the plurality of receiving means, storing the block data received by the receiving means, and outputting the block data in the order of storage, and a plurality of blocks according to the arrangement of the block data in the data And processing means for reading out and processing the block data from the temporary storage means.
[0008]
The information processing method according to the present invention is an information processing method using an information processing apparatus including a communication unit that acquires desired data from a information providing apparatus that provides data via a network. The first step of dividing the block into a plurality of block data, the second step of receiving a part of the plurality of block data from the plurality of receiving means via the communication means, and the plurality of receiving means received A third step of storing the block data in a plurality of temporary storage means installed corresponding to the receiving means, and a fourth step of reading the block data from the plurality of temporary storage means in accordance with the arrangement of the block data in the data and processing the fourth block data These steps are included.
[0009]
A recording medium according to the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for an information processing apparatus including a communication unit that acquires desired data via a network from an information providing apparatus that provides data is recorded. A first step of dividing the data into a plurality of blocks to form a plurality of block data; a second step of receiving a part of the plurality of block data from the plurality of reception means via the communication means; and a plurality of receptions The block data received by the means is stored in a plurality of temporary storage means installed corresponding to the reception means, and the block data is read from the plurality of temporary storage means in accordance with the arrangement of the block data in the data. A computer-readable recording of a program for causing the information processing apparatus to execute the fourth step to be processed It is a function of the recording medium.
[0010]
A program according to the present invention is a program for an information processing apparatus including a communication unit that acquires desired data via a network from an information providing apparatus that provides data, and the program is divided into a plurality of blocks. A first step of setting the block data as a block data, a second step of receiving a part of the plurality of block data from the plurality of receiving means via the communication means, and receiving the block data received by the plurality of receiving means. A third step of storing in a plurality of temporary storage means installed corresponding to the data, and a fourth step of reading and processing the block data from the plurality of temporary storage means according to the arrangement of the block data in the data A program for causing a device to execute the program.
[0011]
Thereby, in the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, the recording medium, and the program of the present invention, the data is divided into a plurality of blocks as a plurality of block data, and a part of the plurality of block data is transmitted via the communication means. Block data received by a plurality of receiving means and received by a plurality of receiving means are stored in a plurality of temporary storage means installed corresponding to the receiving means, and a plurality of temporary data are arranged according to the arrangement of block data in the data. Since the block data is selectively read from the storage means and processed, the data can be received and processed from the beginning without changing the order of the received data. As a result, for example, when the data is data that can be processed in the order received, it is possible to perform processing in units of block data before receiving all the data. That is, data processing can be speeded up.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus that receives and decodes JPEG-compressed image data as an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, in particular, the information processing apparatus divides JPEG spatially compressed image data via the network, receives the image data in parallel, and performs decoding processing on the received JPEG spatially compressed image data. In the decoding process of the image data subjected to the JPEG spatial compression, data is sequentially required from the head of the image data. Therefore, when the divided download is performed in parallel processing, the decoding process is required from the head of the data. For this reason, the embodiment showing the effect of the present invention is suitable.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 1 includes a communication unit 10, a control unit 11, reception units 1 and 12, reception units 2 and 12, reception units N and 12 (hereinafter simply referred to as reception unit 12). ), FIFO (First-In First-Out) means 1, 13, FIFO means 2, 13,..., FIFO means N · 13 (hereinafter referred to as FIFO means 13), and processing means 14. The communication means 10 receives various data from a web server (not shown) on the Internet, or accesses the web server (information providing device) to set the transfer speed and the type of operating system (OS) software of the web server. I will investigate.
[0014]
Further, the control means 11 divides the file data to be downloaded via the communication means 10 into appropriate blocks, determines how many of the N receiving means 12 are activated, and the like. In the present embodiment, the control unit 11 determines a block capacity that is a data capacity of the block and divides the block into blocks.
[0015]
The receiving unit 12 receives the block data divided into blocks by the control unit 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the receiving means 12 is composed of N (N is a natural number of 2 or more) receiving means 1 and 12 to receiving means N and 12. The FIFO means 13 is a memory which exists corresponding to each of the N receiving means 12 and sequentially stores the data received by the receiving means 12 and sequentially outputs the previously stored data. The FIFO means 13 is composed of N FIFO1 · 13 to FIFOON · 13 as shown in FIG.
[0016]
The processing unit 14 collects JPEG spatially compressed image data output from the FIFO unit 13 and performs a decoding process. The display unit 15 is a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or a liquid crystal display, and displays the image data decoded by the processing unit 14. In this embodiment, the image data processed by the processing unit 14 is displayed on the display unit 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image data processed by the processing unit 14 is printed by a printing unit such as a printer. It may be a form.
[0017]
The receiving means 12 and the processing means 14 described above are each constituted by a thread that is a minimum unit when the OS processes one application, and can perform time-division parallel processing. When the information processing apparatus 1 includes two or more CPUs (central processing units), threads up to the number of CPUs included are processed in parallel instead of time division.
[0018]
The control unit 11 determines the number of receiving units 12 to be actually used and the block capacity of the transfer source file based on external factors. When the block capacity is determined, the control unit 11 determines a divided block from the file size to be transferred. The external factors described above are, for example, the type of OS of the Web server that is the transfer source and the session establishment time. Information regarding the session establishment time can be acquired when accessing the Web server prior to data transfer.
[0019]
Hereinafter, a block capacity example and a division example according to external factors (the Web server OS type and session establishment time) in the present embodiment will be described and described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of block capacity and an example of division according to external factors in the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, three types of patterns A, B, and C are shown as block capacity examples and division examples according to external factors. As shown in FIG. 2, there are an item 31 “Web server OS type” and an item 32 “session establishment time” as external factors. Further, there are an item 33 “number of receiving means” and an item 34 “number of divisions” as division examples, and an item 35 “block capacity” as an example of block capacity.
[0020]
First, an example of external factors in each pattern will be described. In pattern A, the Web server OS (item 31) = XX2000, and the session establishment time (item 32) is 1 second. In pattern B, the Web server OS (item 31) = ABC, and the session establishment time (item 32) is 0.999 seconds, so that it is less than 1 second. In Pattern C, since the Web server OS (item 31) = XYZ and the session establishment time (item 32) is 1.001 seconds, it is set to 1 second or longer. Further, it is assumed that the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has the ability to download 1 M (mega) bytes of data (block data) in 5 seconds.
[0021]
Next, an example of division and an example of block capacity determined by the control unit 11 based on the external factors described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, in the case of pattern A, the control unit 11 determines the block capacity (item 35) = xx and the number of sessions = 1 of the transfer source file, thereby determining the number of receiving units 12 ( Item 33) = 1 is determined. Thereby, the control means 11 determines the division number (item 34) = 1 of the transfer source file.
[0022]
In the case of pattern B, the control means 11 determines that the number of receiving means 12 to be used (item 33) = 4 and the block capacity of the transfer source file (item 35) = yy. Thereby, the control means 11 also determines the division number (item 34) = 12 of the transfer source file.
[0023]
Similarly, in the case of pattern C, the control means 11 determines that the number of receiving means 12 to be used (item 33) = 3 and the block capacity of the transfer source file (item 35) = zz. Thereby, the control means 11 also determines the division number (item 34) = 6 of the transfer source file.
[0024]
The relationship shown in FIG. 2 is determined in advance by the control means 11 before data download is started. The block capacity determined by the control means 11 is the number of bytes equal to or greater than the number of bytes obtained by dividing the file size to be downloaded by the number of divisions, and is a value in units of 1 Mbyte.
[0025]
Next, a specific example of each pattern shown in FIG. 2 will be shown, and a communication time example and a reception example in each pattern will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of communication time and reception in each pattern shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the capacity of a file to be downloaded in all patterns A to C is 12 Mbytes. Further, it is assumed that the control unit 11 determines that the block capacity is 12 MB for pattern A, the block capacity is 1 MB for pattern B, and the block capacity is 2 MB for pattern C.
[0026]
In FIG. 3, ta represents the download time (including the session establishment time) of one receiving means 12 in the pattern A, and is about 61 seconds. Further, tb1 to tb4 indicate download times of the four receiving means 12 in the pattern B, which is about 18 seconds. Further, tc1 to tc3 indicate download times of the three receiving means 12 in the pattern C, which is about 22 seconds. Here, the difference in the number of download times ta, tb1 to tb4, and tc1 to tc3 is the difference in the number of uses of the receiving means 12 shown in FIG.
[0027]
Also, at the download time ta, SA is the session establishment time in pattern A, and DA is the time required to download data (block data) for one block capacity after session establishment in pattern A (hereinafter referred to as “data”). 1 block download time). Similarly, at download times tb1 to tb4 and tc1 to tc3, SB and SC are session establishment times of pattern B and pattern C, and DB and DC indicate one block download times of pattern B and pattern C. .
[0028]
Thereby, in the pattern A, since the session establishment time SA = 1 second and 1 block download time DA = 12 Mbytes * 5 seconds = 60 seconds, the download time is about 61 seconds. In Pattern A, the number of receiving means = 1 is because XX2000, which is the OS of the Web server, is an OS that does not allow simultaneous downloading of a plurality of sessions, such as Windows (registered trademark) 2000, for example. In this case, the number of divisions is 1 because there is no point in dividing the file to be downloaded.
[0029]
In pattern B, since the session establishment time SB is less than 1 second, 1 block download time DB = 1 Mbyte * 5 seconds = 5 seconds, and the number of sessions = 3, each of the download times tb1 to tb4 is about 18 seconds. Become. Here, the number of sessions is 3 because the session establishment time SB is as short as less than 1 second, and there is a design philosophy that there is no waste even if one receiving means 12 establishes a session 3 times. . In this way, increasing the number of sessions reduces the time required for the processing means 14 to start data processing because the one-block download time is shortened. However, if the number of sessions is increased too much, the time required for the session establishment time SB increases. Therefore, it is necessary to balance the information processing apparatus 1 and the download destination Web server in consideration of the communication state and communication capability.
[0030]
In the pattern C, since the session establishment time SC is 1 second or more and 1 block download time DC = 2 Mbytes * 5 seconds = 10 seconds and the number of sessions = 2 times, each of the download times tc1 to tc3 is about 22 seconds. Become. Here, the number of sessions is two. Since the session establishment time SC is as long as 1 second or more, the design philosophy is to reduce the number of session reestablishment so that one receiving means 12 has two sessions. Because there is. Even in this case, the processing means 14 can start data processing at the time when the first one-block download is completed, compared with the case where the session is not re-established, so that the data processing efficiency is improved. .
[0031]
As described above, in the information processing apparatus 1 in the case of the pattern B or the pattern C, for example, when downloading a plurality of compressed image data, the image data that has been downloaded halfway is compressed and decompressed. By displaying in this manner, it is possible to realize a faster image display than before. Further, by detecting the OS of the download destination Web server, the information processing apparatus 1 can cope with an OS that does not permit multi-session download, such as Pattern A. However, in the case of pattern A, the download time of the information processing apparatus 1 is not different from the conventional one.
[0032]
In the patterns A to C described above, the pattern B can be downloaded the earliest, but in reality, since the reception process and the like are time-division processed, a download time longer than the theoretical value shown in FIG. 3 is required. You need to be careful.
[0033]
Next, a specific configuration example of the information processing apparatus 1 in the case of the pattern C illustrated in FIG. 2 will be described, and a specific example of the above-described embodiment will be described.
FIG. 4 shows a specific configuration example of the information processing apparatus 1 in the case of the pattern C shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a process in which a receiving thread 42 as three receiving means 12 downloads a JPEG spatially compressed data file 41 (data length 5.23 Mbytes) on the network in parallel processing. A process in which the decoding thread as the processing unit 14 reads and decodes data downloaded from the plurality of FIFO units 13 will be described.
[0034]
In the present embodiment, as shown in pattern C, the data file 41 on the network side is divided into 6 virtual blocks (1M × 5 and 0.23M × 1) in 1M units. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the data file 41 is divided into six virtual blocks from the first to the sixth in order from the top. Further, the reception thread # 0 • 42 (reception means 1 • 12) sequentially downloads the first and fourth blocks and inputs them to the FIFOs 1 • 13. Similarly, the reception threads # 1 and 42 (reception means 2 and 12) sequentially download the second and fifth blocks and input them to the FIFOs 2 and 13, respectively. Similarly, the reception thread # 2 • 42 (reception means 3 • 12) sequentially downloads the third and sixth blocks and inputs the data to the FIFOs 3 • 13.
[0035]
At this time, the sixth block of the data file 41 has a file size that is a fraction and is 0.23 Mbytes. In the following description, the reception threads # 0 and 42, the reception threads # 1 and 42, and the reception threads # 2 and 42 are collectively referred to as a reception thread 42. Further, as described above, the FIFOs 1 and 13, the FIFOs 2 and 13, and the FIFOs 3 and 13 are collectively used as the FIFO unit 13.
[0036]
Next, when downloading, the reception thread 42 can instruct the Web server from which byte of the compressed file (data file 41) to be transferred, and uses this mechanism. When the necessary amount, in this case, 1 Mbyte (however, 0.23 Mbyte in the case of the sixth block) is received, the session is disconnected and no further downloading is performed, so that the transfer source file (data file 41) Can get any part of. That is, the information processing apparatus 1 can transfer a desired block in the transfer source file from the Web server.
[0037]
Further, the process of inserting the data downloaded by the reception thread 42 into the FIFO means 13 is a process of inserting in 128 Kbyte buffer units. The capacity of each FIFO means 13 is configured according to the block size of data to be downloaded (= block capacity of blocks in the data file 41). In this embodiment, since the block size is 1 Mbyte, as shown in FIG. 4, the FIFO means 13 has a configuration including eight 128 Kbyte buffers 13c, and thus has a configuration for 1 byte. . Here, it should be noted that each receiving thread 42 does not download and insert all 1 Mbytes of data into the buffer, but downloads them in units of 128 Kbytes and inserts them into the FIFO means 13.
[0038]
Each FIFO means 13 stores a written position variable wrPosition in the variable storage area 13d and indicates how many buffers 13c have been written in each FIFO means 13. The written position variable wrPosition is a number starting from 0, and when it is incremented by 1, it is the buffer number of the buffer 13c (1 to 8 in this embodiment). That is, since there are eight buffers 13c, when the writing to the eighth buffer 13c of the FIFO means 13 is completed, the written position variable wrPosition = 7. Further, the writing to the buffer 13c exceeding the eighth one is performed again from the top buffer 13c on the assumption that the data has already been taken out from the buffer 13c. In this case, the written position variable wrPosition can be discriminated whether or not the writing is performed for the second time (or more times) by indicating the number after 8 as a number.
[0039]
In FIG. 4, which is an embodiment, since FIFO1 and 13 are being written to the second buffer 13c for the second time and written to the first buffer 13c for the second time, the written position variable wrPosition is used. = 8. In addition, since both FIFOs 2 and 13 and FIFOs 3 and 13 are written to the fifth buffer 13c for the first time and written to the fourth buffer 13c for the first time, the written position variable wrPosition is written. = 3.
[0040]
In the present embodiment, the decode thread 44 extracts data from the FIFO means 13. The decode thread 44 (the processing means 14 in FIG. 1) sequentially retrieves received data 1M at a time, FIFO1 · 13 → FIFO2 · 13 → FIFO3 · 13⇒FIFO1 · 13⇒FIFO2 · 13⇒FIFO3 · 13⇒. At the time of extraction, a maximum of 128 Kbytes of buffer unit is extracted, and a maximum of eight are extracted from each FIFO means 13. By this extraction, the decode thread 44 can decode the data in the same configuration as the file configuration order in the Web server on the network side.
[0041]
The position variable rdPosition stored in the variable storage area 43 indicates how many of the buffers 13c in the FIFO means 13 have been read out. One variable storage area 43 is provided for all the three FIFO units 13 described above. The position variable rdPosition is recorded with a number starting from 0. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the decode thread 44 is reading the fifth buffer 13c of the FIFOs 1 and 13, since the fourth buffer has been read, the position variable rdPosition = 3 is stored. ing.
[0042]
In FIG. 4, first, data starts to be accumulated in the FIFOs 1 and 13, and the decode thread 44 takes it out. In the meantime, data starts to be accumulated in the reception threads # 1 and 42 and the reception threads # 2 and 42 by time-division parallel processing. The time-series parallel processing here refers to a write waiting time that occurs when the reception thread # 1 • 42 sequentially downloads the second block of the data file 41 and writes the data to the first buffer 13c of the FIFO2 • 13. , The receiving thread # 2 • 43 sequentially downloads the third block of the data file 41 and writes the data to the first buffer 13c of the FIFO 3 • 13. Here, when all the data is read from a certain buffer 13c, it is not necessary to hold the data in the buffer 13c anymore, so that the buffer 13c is released. Further, the reception thread 42 overwrites the newly received data in the released buffer 13c.
[0043]
Here, description will be made with attention paid to the reception threads # 0 and 42 and FIFOs 1 and 13 shown in FIG. Since the FIFOs 1 and 13 in FIG. 4 have been read up to the fourth buffer 13c from the top, the first to fourth buffers 13c have been released. As a result, the reception thread # 0 • 42 performs the second writing to the first and second buffers 13c. That is, the reception thread # 0 • 42 starts reading data from the data file 41 on the Web server side after the 4M byte. As shown in FIG. 4, the reception threads # 0 and 42 have already received data from 4 M bytes to 128 K bytes, and have already been recorded in the top buffer of the FIFOs 1 and 13. In addition, the receiving thread # 0 • 42 is currently downloading 4M and 128K byte and subsequent data and recording it in the second buffer 13c of the FIFO1 • 13.
[0044]
As described above, since the newly received data is accumulated in the other FIFO unit 13 while the decode thread 44 is reading data from one FIFO unit 13, the information processing apparatus 1 waits for reception. Data can be received without time. That is, the data received by the receiving thread 42 and inserted into the FIFO means 13 is sequentially decoded by the decoding thread 44 in the order of FIFO1 · 13⇒FIFO2 · 13⇒FIFO3 · 13⇒FIFO1 · 13⇒FIFO2 · 13⇒FIFO3 · 13⇒. It can be said that there is a high possibility of reading. As a result, the decode thread 44 can perform high-speed decode processing.
[0045]
The maximum data storage size of each of the FIFOs 1 and 13, the FIFOs 2 and 13, and the FIFOs 3 and 13 is 1 Mbyte, and is configured according to the block size received by the reception thread 42. As a result, the decoding processing speed in the decoding thread 44 catches up with the receiving speed by the reception thread 42, so that it is difficult to wait for reception from the FIFO means 13 for data reception.
[0046]
Also, if the maximum data storage size of the FIFO means 13 is, for example, 512 Kbytes and is smaller than 1 Mbyte of the block size received by the reception thread 42, the following problems may occur. For example, when the reception thread 42 inserts reception data into the FIFO means 13 in units of the storage size of the 128 Kbyte buffer 13c, if the decoding process of the decode thread 44 is slow, the storage capacity of the FIFO means 13 is full (maximum storage capacity). A state in which the data to be stored is stored), and there is a waste that the received data cannot be inserted.
[0047]
Further, if the maximum data storage size of the FIFO means 13 is larger than 2 Mbytes, for example, and 1 Mbyte of the block size received by the reception thread 42, the following problems may occur. For example, when the receiving thread 42 inserts the received data into the FIFO means 13, the receiving thread 42 inserts the data after the 4M byte of the data file 41 to be downloaded into the FIFO data storage area larger than the received block size. However, for the decoding thread 44, the data required from 1M to 2M is necessary after the data of 1M bytes from the beginning, and the data after the 4M bytes is not required immediately. , Some waste. For this reason, it is optimal that the maximum data storage size of the FIFO means 13 is configured in accordance with the block size received by the reception thread 42.
[0048]
Next, data writing and data extraction in the FIFO means 13 will be described in detail. A counting semaphore is used for exclusive control of the FIFO means 13 related to data writing and reading. As shown in FIG. 4, for each FIFO means 13, there is a write permission semaphore 13a and a read permission semaphore 13b. The write permission semaphore 13a and the read permission semaphore 13b are counting semaphores and are used for writing / reading control to the buffer 13c of the FIFO means 13.
[0049]
The initial count value of the write enable semaphore 13a is 8, which is the same as the number of buffers 13c, and the initial count value of the read enable semaphore 13b is 0. When the receiving thread 42 acquires a semaphore, the count value of the write permission semaphore 13a decreases by one, and when it becomes 0, the semaphore cannot be acquired. As a result, a wait occurs until the reception thread 42 releases the semaphore of the write permission semaphore 13a, and exclusive control is achieved. When the reception thread 42 releases the semaphore of the write permission semaphore 13a, the count value of the read permission semaphore 13b increases by one.
[0050]
Next, a process in which the reception thread 42 writes data to the FIFO unit 13 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process in which the reception thread 42 writes data to the FIFO unit 13. First, prior to the data writing process, the reception thread 42 establishes a session with the Web server via the network in order to receive 1 Mbyte of data from the Web server. After the session is established, it is possible to specify from which part of the data file 41 on the Web server side the data file 41 is read.
[0051]
Next, in step 401, when a session with the Web server is established, the reception thread 42 calculates which buffer 13c is to be written with data to be downloaded by referring to the written position variable wrPosition, and applies. The buffer 13c is searched. Specifically, the reception thread 42 calculates the buffer number from the head of the FIFO means 13 by the following equation 1 using the written position variable wrPosition of each FIFO means 13.
Buffer number = (wrPosition + 1)% 8 Equation 1
In Equation 1, “%” is an operator that indicates the remainder when X is divided by Y when X% Y is set for arbitrary variables X and Y, for example. Thereby, the reception thread 42 searches the buffer 13c having the calculated buffer number.
[0052]
Next, in step 402, the reception thread 42 acquires the write permission semaphore 13a in order to determine whether or not the retrieved buffer 13c is free. That is, if the write permission semaphore 13a can be acquired, the buffer 13c is free and can be used. If the write permission semaphore 13a cannot be acquired, the read task cannot read the FIFO means 13, and the buffer 13c of the FIFO means 13 is full of data. At this time, the receiving thread 42 waits for a semaphore.
[0053]
Next, in step 403, the reception thread 42 writes data to the FIFO unit 13. Specifically, since the initial value of the write permission semaphore 13a is 8, the reception thread 42 can write at least eight buffers 13c without waiting for the semaphore. That is, the receiving thread 42 can acquire a semaphore 8 times, and writes a maximum of 128 Kbytes of data to the buffer 13c from the network. After the completion of writing, the startPos variable 13e in the buffer management table shown in FIG. 4 indicates the number of bytes from which data is written when the beginning of the file is 0 bytes. The endPos variable 13f describes how many bytes of data have been written.
[0054]
The startPos variable 13e and the endPos variable 13f described above are managed because it is necessary to specify how much data has been written since the storage area of the buffer 13c is not completely filled when there is a fraction at the end of the file. Variable. In FIG. 4, only the startPos variable and the endPos variable of the uppermost buffer 13c in the FIFO means 13 are assigned the symbols 13e and 13f for the sake of clarity, but as is apparent from FIG. Each of the other seven buffers 13c has a startPos variable 13e and an endPos variable 13f.
[0055]
Next, in step 404, the reception thread 42 increments the written position variable wrPosition when the writing of data to the buffer 13c is completed. Next, in step 405, the reception thread 42 releases the read permission semaphore 13b. If the read permission semaphore 13b is released, the semaphore of the read permission semaphore 13b can be acquired when the decode thread 44 described below is waiting to be read, and can be read immediately.
[0056]
Next, a process in which the decode thread 44 reads and decodes data from the buffer 13c will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process in which the decode thread 44 reads and decodes data from the buffer 13c. Here, since the data read from the buffer 13c is a part of an image file subjected to JPEG spatial compression, it is necessary to sequentially decode the data from the beginning of the file. Accordingly, in step 501, the decode thread 44 searches the buffer 13c to be read with reference to the position variable rdPosition.
[0057]
Specifically, the decode thread 44 calculates a FIFO number indicating which FIFO unit 13 is read using the following Expression 2, based on the position variable rdPosition indicating the buffer number that has already been read.
FIFO number = ((rdPosition + 1) / 8)% 3 Equation 2
However, “%” in Equation 2 is the same as the operator shown in Equation 1 above.
Next, the decode thread 44 uses the following Expression 3 to determine the read buffer number indicating which data is read from which buffer 13c in the buffer group (eight buffers 13c) in the FIFO means 13 specified by the FIFO number. calculate.
Read buffer number = (rdPosition + 1)% 8 Equation 3
However, “%” in Expression 3 is the same as the operator shown in Expression 1 described above.
Based on the FIFO number and the buffer number obtained by the above formulas 2 and 3, the decode thread 44 searches the buffer 13c.
[0058]
Next, in step 502, the decode thread 44 obtains the semaphore of the read permission semaphore 13b of the FIFO means 13 having the searched buffer 13c as to whether or not data can be read from the searched buffer 13c. judge. Here, when the decode thread 44 can acquire the semaphore of the read permission semaphore 13b, since the data has already been written in the buffer 13c, the data can be read from the buffer 13c. If the decode thread 44 cannot acquire the semaphore of the read permission semaphore 13b, the data has not been written in the buffer 13c and the read is not ready, so that waiting for the semaphore occurs.
[0059]
If the semaphore can be acquired, the process advances to step 503, and the decode thread 44 determines whether or not the data in the buffer 13c to be read is data necessary for the decoding process. Specifically, when data is decoded, all the data is necessary, but if all of the file formats that do not need to be read in the header of the data happen to be the data of the target buffer 13c (in step 503) In No), the decode thread 44 skips reading of data from the buffer 13 c and proceeds to Step 505. If the data in the target buffer 13c is necessary for decoding (Yes in step 503), the process proceeds to step 504, where the decode thread 44 reads the data from the buffer 13c and uses it for the decoding process.
[0060]
Next, in step 505, the decode thread 44 increments rdPosition for reading the next data after using the data for the decoding process. Next, in step 506, the decode thread 44 releases the write permission semaphore 13a so that the reception thread 42 can reuse the buffer 13c currently handled as an unnecessary buffer 13c. If the write permission semaphore 13a is released, the reception thread 42 can write data as described above. If further data decoding processing is necessary, the decoding thread 44 performs steps 501 to 506 shown in FIG. 6 again.
[0061]
As described above, in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, data in the Web server can be received in parallel at high speed and processed from the top without changing the data order. As a result, the information processing apparatus 1 can display an image at a higher speed than the conventional one when downloading, decoding, and displaying the compressed image.
In the above-described embodiment, each process performed by the information processing apparatus 1 has been described as a software process. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a part or all of each process may be achieved by a hardware process. . Further, although not shown, the information processing apparatus 1 may include an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard.
[0062]
Further, each processing unit of the information processing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be realized by dedicated hardware, and each processing unit includes a memory and a CPU, and functions of each processing unit. The function may be realized by reading a program for realizing the above into a memory and executing the program.
The memory includes a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk device, a magneto-optical disk device, and a flash memory, a recording medium such as a CD-ROM that can only be read, and a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). Or a computer-readable / writable recording medium based on a combination thereof.
[0063]
1 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed. Each process may be performed. The “computer system” here includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.
[0064]
The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system serving as a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding a program for a certain period of time are also included.
[0065]
The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line.
The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.
[0066]
A program product such as a computer-readable recording medium in which the above program is recorded can also be applied as an embodiment of the present invention. The above program, recording medium, transmission medium, and program product are included in the scope of the present invention.
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.
[0067]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, the recording medium, and the program according to the present invention, the data is divided into a plurality of blocks as a plurality of block data, and a plurality of block data is transmitted via communication means. A part is received by a plurality of receiving means, the block data received by the plurality of receiving means is stored in a plurality of temporary storage means installed corresponding to the receiving means, and the block data is arranged in accordance with the arrangement of the block data Since block data is selectively read from a plurality of temporary storage means and processed, the data can be received and processed from the top without changing the order of the received data. As a result, for example, when the data is data that can be processed in the order received, it is possible to perform processing in units of block data before receiving all the data. That is, data processing can be speeded up. Specifically, when a compressed image or the like is downloaded, decoded, and displayed, high-speed display can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of block capacity and an example of division according to external factors in the present embodiment.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication time and an example of reception in each pattern illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG.
4 is a diagram illustrating a specific configuration example of the information processing apparatus 1 in the case of the pattern C illustrated in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process in which the receiving thread 42 writes data to the FIFO means 13;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process in which the decode thread 44 reads and decodes data from the buffer 13c.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Information processing equipment
10 Communication means
11 Control means
12 receiving means 1, receiving means 2,..., Receiving means N
13 FIFO1, FIFO2, ..., FIFON
13a Write permission semaphore
13b Read permission semaphore
13c buffer
13d variable storage area
13e startPos variable
13f endPos variable
14 Processing means
15 Display means
41 Data files
42 reception thread # 0, reception thread # 1, reception thread # 2
43 Variable storage area
44 record thread

Claims (15)

An information processing apparatus that acquires and processes desired data from an information providing apparatus that provides data via a network,
A communication means for communicating with the information providing device;
Dividing means for dividing the data into a plurality of blocks to form a plurality of block data;
A plurality of receiving means for receiving a part of the plurality of block data via the communication means;
A plurality of temporary storage means installed for each of the plurality of receiving means, storing the block data received by the receiving means, and outputting the block data in the order of storage;
An information processing apparatus comprising: processing means for reading and processing the block data from the plurality of temporary storage means according to the arrangement of the block data in the data. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the maximum data amount that can be stored in the plurality of temporary storage units and the data amount of the block data are the same. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of receiving units receive a part of the plurality of block data in a time-sharing manner. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit selectively reads out and processes the block data from the plurality of temporary storage units in a time division manner. 5. 5. The information according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit divides the data so that a number of blocks is larger than a number of the plurality of receiving units. Processing equipment. And further comprising a control means for determining the number of receiving means used among the plurality of receiving means, the number of blocks, and the data capacity of the block data before starting reception by the receiving means,
6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit divides the data according to the determination of the control unit. The control means includes the number of receiving means used among the plurality of receiving means, the number of blocks, and the block data based on a communication speed when the communication means communicates with the information providing apparatus via the network. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the data capacity of the information processing apparatus is determined. The control means determines the number of receiving means used among the plurality of receiving means, the number of blocks, and the data capacity of the block data based on the type of operating system of the information providing apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the temporary storage unit is a FIFO. An information processing method using an information processing apparatus including a communication unit that acquires desired data via a network from an information providing apparatus that provides data,
A first step of dividing the data into a plurality of blocks to form a plurality of block data;
A second step of receiving a part of the plurality of block data from the plurality of receiving means via the communication means;
A third step of storing the block data received by a plurality of receiving means in a plurality of temporary storage means installed corresponding to the receiving means;
And a fourth step of reading and processing the block data from the plurality of temporary storage means according to the arrangement of the block data in the data. 11. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the maximum data amount that can be stored in the plurality of temporary storage units and the data amount of the block data are the same. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for an information processing device including a communication unit that acquires desired data from a data providing device via a network,
A first step of dividing the data into a plurality of blocks to form a plurality of block data;
A second step of receiving a part of the plurality of block data from the plurality of receiving means via the communication means;
A third step of storing the block data received by a plurality of receiving means in a plurality of temporary storage means installed corresponding to the receiving means;
A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing an information processing apparatus to execute a fourth step of reading and processing the block data from the plurality of temporary storage units according to the arrangement of the block data in the data. 13. The recording medium according to claim 12, wherein the maximum data amount that can be stored in the plurality of temporary storage units and the data amount of the block data are the same. A program for an information processing apparatus including a communication unit that acquires desired data via a network from an information providing apparatus that provides data,
A first step of dividing the data into a plurality of blocks to form a plurality of block data;
A second step of receiving a part of the plurality of block data from the plurality of receiving means via the communication means;
A third step of storing the block data received by a plurality of receiving means in a plurality of temporary storage means installed corresponding to the receiving means;
A program for causing an information processing device to execute a fourth step of reading and processing the block data from the plurality of temporary storage means according to the arrangement of the block data in the data. 15. The program according to claim 14, wherein the maximum data amount that can be stored in the plurality of temporary storage units and the data amount of the block data are the same.

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